One in every 58 children in Utah is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. To meet the rising need for resources, Utah Valley University broke ground Thursday on a new 8.4 million dollar autism center.

Children suspected of having autism spectrum disorder are getting tested at a younger age. That’s according to a study conducted in Utah and four other states. The research suggests that a national effort to have kids evaluated when they are younger is working.

Up until now, autism was not covered by health insurance in Utah, but that’s about to change. Treatment options available in the state are adapting to the new policies. One partnership is going to expand the number of children with autism who can be treated.

As the rate of children with autism continues to grow, a new study authored by a BYU professor shows that a typical pediatric exam may not be adequate to detect autism risk. It was published in the journal Pediatrics this week.

The project encourages parents of children with Autism to provide the Unified Police Department with information—like an Autistic child’s name, physical description, and known triggers. Those facts would be passed to the officers responding to an emergency. The goal is to create humane interactions between

officers and individuals with disabilities. Jon Owen is president of the Utah Autism Coalition. He says a large percentage of children with Autism are prone to wander. The roster could help those missing be found faster.

As many as a thousand genes may contribute to the risk for autism. That’s according to a new study by the Autism Sequencing Consortium published his week in the journal Nature. In the largest study of its kind, researchers examined DNA samples from more than 14,000 individuals, including several hundred Utah families. The result was that they dramatically expanded the list of genes identified with autism spectrum disorder.

Women who live in areas with polluted air are up to twice as likely to have an autistic child than those living in communities with cleaner air. That’s according to a new national study from Harvard University published online in Environmental Health Perspectives. KUER’s Andrea Smardon reports on what this might mean for Utah - which has the highest autism rates in the country, and occasionally the worst air quality.

A new poll shows that the majority of Utah voters want John Swallow out of office, a man shot while at church is expected to recover, and a program for treating children with Autism in Utah is accepting 35 new applicants.

Utah parents of children with autism can now apply for limited spaces in a treatment program. The state Department of Health’s Medicaid Autism Waiver Program opened enrollment Monday for 35 children under 7 years old, but advocates in the autism community say it’s not enough.

A bill that would mandate insurance coverage of autism testing and treatment in Utah will advance to the floor of the state Senate. The Senate Business and Labor Committee approved the bill 5-2 Thursday, despite lawmakers concerns that the bill would not only cost taxpayer money, but would also drive up health insurance premiums.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gives Utah conditional approval for their state run health exchange, a University of Utah program tries to give children with Autism a better quality of life, and the Holly Oil Refinery in Woods Cross gets approval to expand.

The iSTAR program uses a free 3D design application called SketchUp to help kids with a high functioning form of the Autism Spectrum Disorder develop better social and career skills. iSTAR project director Cheryl Wright says the results they’ve seen so far are encouraging.